he came looking for sugar and found beets
the goat was chewing what looked like a foot
though it was a root
of an old stump 
pulled from the ground
by a bull tractor
skirting by 
the old
bleeding yard

his mouth drooped 
when he only found beets

Dear darling nowhere sugar
follow beet trail
leading to death's destruction
solid fall away
liquid fall away
fire burn 
air smoke all gone
white
red
black
blue
themeless concentration

small quarry 
injured but robust
shook off the crippling pain
legged it long and short

never again 
back home
until tomorrow

bottle of petrol
bananas and a water bottle

the beatings rained on him
broken bones 
broken skin
heart full of life
jumping around
vibrant inside

he decided to do it live
it wouldn’t really matter
no-one watched
no-one came after

he found his way to the end
no-one followed
not one friend
and when he re-appeared
there were spaghetti hoops in his beard
he was trembling and smiling
glistening
as though he’d been sweating
doing something he liked to do

many joined him and went outside 
smiled a lot and smiled a sigh
he went off on the bus
they went home without fuss

wise-cracked and broken
that’s not a bad thing
didn’t give it away 
didn’t have to sell 
just sweep it up 
leave it by the table

the banging continues 
the bang in your brain 
the bang that says your not insane
the bang that knocks you over again
that tells you its time to pick up the pen

the pen won’t do!
‘cos I can’t push
I’m lazy it seems
I don’t like to rush
I like the comfort
I like the dreams
and i’m sure I’m not good enough
not as good as I seem

I'm lazy you see
there’s three types of it:
procrastination, that’ll wait in the pit,
then there's the:
‘I really like things the way that they are’
that's laziness that sits in a jar
then there’s the type that says 
i can’t do it
i’m just too old, too bent, or too ruined
that’s a laziness that’s ugly you see
false humility, the pillock cup o’ tea

so I shudder I stunk and I stood 
I reigned outside 
I ruined my ‘hood
I jumped up and down
and some thought ‘that’s quite good.’
so i stopped and went home.